With over 25 years of experience in the financial products distribution industry, Robert W. Smith is a recognized leader in driving operational excellence, growth, and profitability within the insurance sector.
As the Co-founder and Chief Operational Advisor at Fideles Advisors, Robert’s deep expertise allows him to guide agents, brokers, insurtechs, insurers, investors, and private equity clients toward scalable and sustainable success.
Strategic Leadership and Industry Expertise
Robert’s career has been marked by his ability to transform businesses and lead large-scale initiatives within the insurance sector. His deep understanding of the industry comes from his experience as an operational leader for two national and international insurance aggregators, giving him a perspective that few others possess. He is known for designing and implementing strategic solutions that align enterprise objectives with field execution, driving exceptional results for his clients.
Philosophy and Approach
Robert’s approach is data-driven and focused on delivering value-accretive outcomes. He believes in aligning a company’s strategic goals with operational processes to foster measurable and scalable growth. His expertise spans business development, operational restructuring, and marketing communications, with a proven ability to increase revenue, expand market share, and grow customer bases.
In 2021, Robert led a comprehensive restructuring of a 1% organic growth ecosystem, boosting it to 9% in just six months. This transformation enabled a sale that exceeded the target valuation.
Through operational excellence initiatives, Robert drove annualized EBITDA growth of more than $23MM, contributing to a recapitalization event that valued the business at over 19x EBITDA, adding more than $440MM in enterprise value.
Successfully led multi-year business consolidations, saving over $5MM annually, maintaining client retention targets, and implementing succession planning.
By negotiating financial enhancement deals with trading partners, Robert generated over $2MM in incremental revenue in the first year, contributing directly to earnings with nearly 100% margin gains.
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